> The problem is, of course, that such levity gets undercut I don't think that's true. That is, I'm sure it's true for the author of this article, but it's not

> The problem is, of course, that such levity gets undercut I don't think that's true. That is, I'm sure it's true for the author of this article, but it's not true for the people involved. Humor has always thrived in dark times and places. What is viewed as grim and humorless from the outside is often not seen that way from within, else the grimness itself is what creates the response of humor. Is the idea that Soviet nuclear researchers should have spent their lives in morose silence because their facilities were built with gulag labor? It would be one thing for a click-bait writer with no understanding of history to take this position, but being a historian, I'm surprised the author of this excellent website does.